Three in the Morning Pianokind story edition
by AnimeVikki32
Summary: Dave Strider missed Jade Harley. After their fight he had tried to drown his pain, but when things took an unexpected turn for the worse, Dave just might get the perfect cure for his unimaginable agony. Dave/Jade Oneshot. NO YAOI


**Hey, guys, I know I've been dormant for awhile, but here I am again and I plan on giving you guys something good. Now, this is my first attempt at a Homestuck fanfic so keeping that in mind, here we go!  
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**Disclaimer: Homestuck and all it's characters and merchandise belongs solely to Andrew Hussie, not to me. I'm just a fan :)**

**Three in the Morning (Pianokind)**

Dave/Jade Oneshot

Eighteen year old Dave Strider was sitting at a bar on the edge of town. There were way too many people at this ungodly hour and it was starting to bug him a little. He had come here to drown his sorrows a little, even though he was under the legal age. He didn't care though. Forging a fake ID was one of the many things his bro had taught him to do before he met his untimely death when Dave was thirteen. It was a very emotional moment in his short life and he really didn't like thinking about it. A lot of people thought Dave's bro was a horrible guardian, but not many of those people knew that his bro taught him the things he taught him because those same things had saved his sorry butt a whole bunch of times. He was sharing his infinite wisdom with his younger sibling, what was the harm in that? Wow, he should stop thinking of his bro. It wasn't the reason he had come down here anyway.

The lights hanging from the ceiling with the red, green, and yellow shades were so bland, yet so bright. They hadn't bothered him this much when he had first gotten here. It was one of the signs the alcohol was beginning to get to him. At least he was still sober enough to realize this.

He looked into the glass on the counter. It was a large glass, yet it was almost empty. The beer inside was a brown-yellow color, whatever color beer usually was. It was his first time trying the stuff. It wasn't half bad, actually. He rather liked it. He wondered if that was a bad thing. At this point he didn't care.

Dave stared out the window to the night club across the street. He could see the flashing light and could almost hear the pounding techno music. He loved techno. And rap. Anything he could mix on a turntable. Wow, were his thoughts scattered tonight. Or this morning. He wasn't sure what time it was. The last time he had checked a clock it was somewhere around 3am. And he was supposed to be the Knight of Time.

Dave looked around the bar. There were people drinking (obviously), most of them with their dates. There were people watching the ball game on the TV in the corner. Many people were happily drunk. And then there were those like him who were trying to drink away their depression. Which reminded him…

Jade. The reason he was here trying to forget. He remembered walking into the bar hoping to get so completely wasted that he couldn't remember his own name, much less anything that had happened between him and Jade. It hadn't worked yet. He couldn't help remembering the whole event that had caused him so much pain.

"What the f*ck, Jade!" Dave screamed "Why? What the h*ll did I ever do to deserve this?" Dave and Jade had been dating for a few years now, and Dave had thought things were going swell. They spent all their time together, they were as in love as they could possibly be. Until tonight. Tonight ruined everything. Dave was just so angry right now it took all of his might not to just march right in there and sucker punch Karkat Vantas right in his yapping, badmouthing, troll jaw. In fact, why restrain himself? It'd show Jade just what he thought of the little punk.

"I'm so sorry, Dave! It's just that Karkat came in depressed that Gamzee had gone all crazy clown again and killed Terezi and-''

"And what?" Dave boomed, almost surprised by the force of his voice. Even he didn't know he could get so angry.

"He needed someone to make him feel better. I wasn't cheating, Dave! I was just cheering him up! He needed the support!"

Dave, fit to burst, took a few infuriated steps toward Jade. Instinctively, Jade stepped back.

"Support! So now sucking on that guy's face is support!"

"I'm so sorry, I was going to push away, but…"

"But, what? But, he was just too enticing? I can't take this Jade. And you know what? I can't take him. Karkat Vantas is gonna regret that he ever hatched out of his puny little egg!" Dave stomped forward to try to push his way through the door to Jade's house, even if it meant pushing through Jade.

"Wait, Dave, what are you gonna do?" Jade half asked, half shrieked as she grabbed onto his arm as he tried to walk past her.

"I'm going to give that son-of-a-b*tch what he deserves! Outta my way, Jade."

"Wait no!"

But she was too late to stop him. Dave had already opened the door, revealing Jade's living room, with Karkat sitting on the couch looking dejected. Too bad Dave was gonna make his day about ten times worse.

"Hey, Vantas!"

Karkat got up from the couch, his expression turning into a scowl.

"What do you want, Strider?"

Dave marched right up to Karkat's face, grabbing him by the shirt and holding him a few inches in the air. He got right up to Karkat's face, close enough that he could see the remnance of Jade's lipstick on Karkat's cheek. It was proof.

"What do I want? I want you to stay away from my girl!" And with that, Dave balled his right hand into a fist and sucker punched Karkat right in the jaw. Bright red blood spurted from the corner of his mouth as he fell backwards onto Jade's couch. As Dave turned around to leave, he saw Jade watching in horror from the doorway. So what? He was glad Jade saw him do it. It needed to be done.

"We're through, Jade. I can't believe you." And with that, it was all over. He never saw Jade again. Not since that night.

Now, at a bar in the middle of the night, Dave Strider was missing that girl he'd walked out on. He missed Jade so much it was ridiculous how much his heart hurt right now. It felt like some kind of boa constrictor was wrapping itself around Dave's heart and squeezing just as hard as it can. It was like going through H*ll. And at an age as young as eighteen, that was saying something.

Dave put his hand in the air and waved down the bartender. She walked over to the section of the counter Dave was sitting at and leaned on it.

"Whatcha need, boy?" she asked, chewing her tobacco quite loudly.

"Gimme another beer." he said, "and I need it quick."

"Quick, huh?" she asked as she walked over to get his drink. She began to pour it into a glass just like the first.

"There's somethin' you need to forget, isn't that right?" Dave looked at her in shock. His red eyes widened. The bartender turned around and slid the drink across the counter to Dave. She leaned on the counter again, still chewing her tobacco.

"Don't look so shocked, boy, I've seen many-a drunkie come in here lookin' like you wantin' to drown their troubles away in a cold beer."

Dave sighed and hung his head a little, clutching the glass. He took a swig from it and set it down in the counter again. He should have been able to guess. He'd seen too many movies like this with his bro. The bartender always knows what's troubling the customer. Always.

"It's a chick, right?"

"Huh?"

"I said, it's a chick, right? It always is."

Dave looked at her briefly before hanging his head once more. He took another drink from the glass.

"Yeah, my girl cheated on me. It wasn't anything that wasn't typical of your average breakup. It just hurts a lot." Oh, great. Just like in those stupid movies, he's telling the bartender all his problems.

"You miss her that much? She must have been special to you, boy. I say from a chick's point of view, that if you miss her that much, chances are she probably misses you the same amount. So go to her. I'd be willin' to bet all my tips tonight that she'll come cryin' into your arms like a little baby."

"You think so?" Dave asked, hoping she wasn't lying; hoping at least someone didn't think Jade never wanted to see him again as long as they both lived.

"Thanks. I'll try talking to her again. Maybe things will work out this time."

"No problem."

Dave finished the rest of his beer. He only had two, but as it was his first time with the stuff, he was more than a little tipsy. In fact, he was quite drunk indeed. He set some money on the counter to pay for it and slid down from the bar stool.

He felt the intoxication as soon as his feet hit the floor. He could feel his body sweating profusely, absolutely soaking him. The lights were blurry and painful, everything was blurry and painful to look at. Dave felt his body heating up, his forehead was like an oven. The alcohol was seriously taking its toll.

He stumbled and fell into the wall his bar stool had been beside. He drunkenly caught himself on the stool, almost tipping it as well.

"F*ck, I'm wasted…" he slurred.

Everything around him spun in slow motion. He took a few shaky steps forward, hesitant. He hated walking. It was so stupid. Why did people walk anyway? Why didn't they just fly around in jet packs or mechanical spiders or something?

"Uhh…d*mn…"

Dave stumbled his way across the bar and amazingly found the exit. He stepped out into the chilly open air. He didn't need a coat. No, f*ck that.

The cold air blew against his face, an amazing contrast to the hot and sticky mess that currently was his entire body. It felt good, but that feeling was nothing compared to the deep loneliness that dominated his mind. Jade was the world to him. When he was around her he felt alive. His world was a bare and empty desert without her to give life to everything, just as she had given life to all those beautiful plants in her garden. Yes, even though he pretended he was indifferent about Jade's gardening, in actuality he loved it. He was such a ridiculous sap.

Dave was so completely far gone, he had no idea which way Jade's house was. He was determined to get to her to talk to her, but he had no idea where she lived. The alcohol infecting his brain was hiding that information from him.

It was 4:30am before Dave stopped walking. He was in an alley, but this wasn't where Jade lived. The reason he had stopped walking was so he could lean over and puke in a dumpster.

Geez, did he feel awful. He was sick to his stomach and hot and sweaty and just a mess. Dave leaned over the dumpster and threw up until his stomach and throat were sore. He could smell the stench of his sweat mixing with the stench of his puke. Yuck.

Dave stood straighter and looked up at the moon, stumbling everywhere. His drunken brain took a few minutes to register that unlike the street which had street lights to go by, the sky was almost pitch black. So with a shaky hand he removed his shades.

The moon was so small, just a tiny little sliver. Hardly anything to see. There weren't even any stars out.

After a few minutes of that Dave sloppily put his shades back on. He continued stumbling down the street falling drunkenly to the ground every couple minutes. This was so not cool. Or ironic for that matter.

It was still dark out when Dave ran into Karkat, looking for him. Karkat had been looking for the filthy human ever since that night about a week ago when he got basically owned by the insufferable prick. Karkat was not the sort to let him get away with it. Karkat would get revenge on him. Unfortunately for Dave, Karkat came from a race of beings who consider anything fair game. Even something drastic.

"Hey, Strider, I got a bone to pick with you!"

Dave looked at Karkat about ten feet away from him, straining his eyes. Karkat was blurry, just like everything else. But he could still barely tell it was Karkat. Dave stopped stumbling along the sidewalk and stood there. After a few minutes of trying to keep his balance he just let himself fall against the wall of the building the sidewalk ran next to. He watched Karkat slap his hand to his forehead.

"Strider, you're drunk off your *ss, aren't you? Don't tell me this is all because of Jade because if it is, you're more pathetic than I thought."

"I-I'm not pathet-hic-ic you girlfriend-stealing –hic- liar!" Karkat scowled at him.

"Listen, Dave, I didn't come down here to hear your drunken babble, so let me cut this short before you go on a rampage, okay? I came down here to give you a piece of my mind! I'm not about to let some idiotic human embarrass me in front of Jade like that, so you'd better say your human prayers to your human creator now, Dave!"

Karkat slid a pistol from a belt loop in the back of his pants. He pointed it straight at Dave, his gaze narrowing with every passing second.

"I don't let anyone humiliate me. And unluckily for you, I come from a planet where murder is perfectly acceptable!"

With that, Karkat walked up to Dave. He grabbed him by his shirt, just as Dave had done to him. With a strength unheard of for someone of his short stature, he lifted Dave off the ground and held him against the wall. Karkat put the pistol up to Dave's chest and held it there firmly.

"Any last words, Dave?"

Dave Strider looked at Karkat with a fierce intensity in his eyes. Even in his drunken state, he knew when to defend Jade.

"Yeah -hic- I got some. Jade would never -hic- fall for -hic- a guy like you. You know -hic- why? Because you're a filthy stinkin' murderer!"

"That's enough out of you, Strider!" And Karkat pulled the trigger on the pistol, shooting Dave in the chest. He threw him onto the ground and left him there, walking away in a slow and well-paced stride. No one would even think for a second that Karkat Vantas had just committed a felony.

Dave was lying on the sidewalk, blood quickly pooling around him. His breaths were short and quick, he wasn't going to be alive much longer and he knew it. His chest burned with an intensity worse than fire itself. He was really going to die wasn't he? He was definitely going to die. If only he could have seen Jade just one last time...

"Oh, Dave!"

Jade Harley ran to Dave's seemingly lifeless body, coming from around the block. She must have been out walking or something when she heard the gunshot. Jade was always doing funny things like that: taking walks in the middle of the night. Why hadn't anyone else heard the gun go off? Most people were probably asleep or something.

Jade picked him up in her arms and cradled him like a baby. She held his face next to hers, not caring that she could smell the alcohol coming through his sweat. How did this happen? How could it? Jade knew Dave wasn't the most moral of people but a bar with a fake ID? Deep down Jade knew it was because he missed her. He missed her more than anything-it didn't take a genius to figure that out.

And truthfully? She missed him, too. Ever since that misunderstanding with Karkat Jade had been plagued by feelings of lost love, guilt, and depression. It killed her inside to know that she had driven Dave away. If she hadn't entertained Karkat that night Dave would never have left. Dave would never have left and Karkat would never have killed him. Because she was sure that Karkat was responsible for this. There wasn't a doubt in her mind.

Dave opened his eyes ever so slightly. Was that Jade's voice he heard? He thought it was, but then again in his drunken state of mind he couldn't be sure.

When his eyes slowly pried themselves open the first thing he saw was the worried face of his ex-girlfriend. He was suddenly aware that Jade was holding him. She did miss him. That bartender was right. Jade did still love him. And if he survived through this, which he doubted, he would be the best boyfriend ever to hit planet earth. This he promised.

"Dave, what did Karkat do to you!" Her voice was hysterical. Dave looked at her; focused on her eyes.

"Karkat pulled a gun and shot me. This wound is a gunshot wound."

"Oh, Dave! Please! You can't die!" Jade was suddenly aware how ridiculous that last sentence sounded, but she didn't care. She didn't want him to die. Dave Strider was the best guy she's ever dated, certainly better than Karkat. And if he made it through this she promised she would be the best girlfriend in the history of girlfriends. She would never cheat again. She vowed on her life.

"Jade, if only I had the words to describe how I'm feeling right now. If only I could tell you everything running through my mind but that would take a novel. And I barely have enough time left for a lowly speech."

"Dave you can! I want to hear everything! Tell me everything!"

"Jade, I can't I'm dying. But I will tell you this. I'll tell you that my love for you has never dimmed. I still love you as much as when we first dated. Jade, take care of yourself. Don't you ever give yourself over to any sleazy guys, you hear me? I'll be keeping watch from wherever they stick me to make sure you're safe. I'll never let you go, Jade. Not even in death."

And with that the strong and ironic Dave Strider took his last breaths. His eyes closed and his wounded chest ceased all movement. He just lay there, like a bloodied rag doll in Jade's arms. The only difference between Dave and a rag doll, was that rag dolls don't produce tears.

"Dave...no..." Jade tried to hold back her sobs but it was absolutely no use. The tears poured down her face. She was crying harder than she had ever cried before. She held Dave's corpse closely to her own body. She wanted to feel his warmth, to feel his love radiating from him but she felt nothing. Dave, who had at one time been filled with life and energy, was now nothing but a lifeless hollow shell. Death had robbed everything from him. What made Dave Strider _Dave Strider_ was no longer here. Jade shook violently from the force of her sadness.

"Dave...Dave come back! Dave...I love you, Dave..."

Jade didn't know it, but there was an odd stirring in the air behind her. A shaky, transparent hand appeared on her shoulder.

_I'll be with you, Jade. _

_I promise_.

_I'll love you 'till the day I die._

_And then for an eternity afterward. _

The End

**Thanx for reading, I hope this little story was satisfactory :)**


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